Ignoring late opposition from labor groups, San Antonio
voters handily approved three changes to the City Charter, giving Mayor Ed Garza
the tools he says will make city government more responsive to citizens' needs.

Turnout was low, but Garza said the healthy margins of
victory for each proposition should pave the way for broader reforms in the
future.

"Our citizens are ready for change," he said
Tuesday night.

The three propositions will create an internal auditor's
office that reports to City Council rather than the city manager, empower the
council to confirm the manager's appointment of a city attorney and reduce the
number of employees covered by civil service protections.

Garza said two of the changes place more authority in
the hands of elected officials, who are held accountable for their actions by
voters.

The third gives the city manager and department heads
greater ability to manage their employees.

With all precincts counted, the first two propositions
won with more than 60 percent of the vote. The third proposition had 56 percent.

But low turnout for the charter's fifth revision since
its adoption in 1951 disappointed both opponents and proponents.

Only 4.18 percent of Bexar County's 850,000 registered
voters cast ballots, less than the 5.4 percent turnout for a tax relief election
in 1997. Election officials said that was the lowest turnout in the county since
the early 1990s.

Orell Fitzsimmons, state director of a local labor union
that opposed the civil service changes in Proposition 3, said the turnout showed
voters' "total disinterest" in the issues.

But Service Employees International Union local director
Karen Bahow said organizers were encouraged that union demands persuaded city
officials to examine the needs of employees with the lowest-paying jobs.

The mayor had been touting two of the proposed changes
since his election in May and later added the third amendment, which eliminates
civil service protection for doctors, lawyers and other licensed professionals.

Proposition 1 created a new internal auditor's office
run by the mayor and the City Council rather than the city manager.

Under Proposition 2, the attorney still will be named
by the city manager, but the council assumes the responsibility of confirming
that appointment. The amendment gives the council the power, for the first time,
to advise the manager on when to replace the city attorney.

Garza had fought steadfastly for the package of reforms,
which were less splashy than other widely discussed changes that had been suggested
but didn't end up on the ballot.

Several City Council members urged Garza to include term
limits reform in the referendum and two voted in August against submitting the
slate to voters because that issue wasn't on the ballot.

The biggest concern, critics said, was that term limits
reform would be blocked for two years if any one of the amendments passed because
the state prohibits the city from amending its charter more often than once
every two years.

The mayor considered the changes a "slam dunk"
victory earlier this year based on summer polls. But his confidence slipped
recently when labor organizations and influential church-based activist groups
came out against Proposition 3 for exempting some of the lowest-paid employees
 temporary, seasonal and part-time workers  from civil service protections.

Officials included seasonal and part-time employees in
the proposition to make the charter's language consistent with civil service
rules, which have excluded those employees from coverage for decades, the city
attorney said.

Garza consulted with the opposition and eventually persuaded
Communities Organized for Public Service and the Metro Alliance to withdraw
their opposition. Labor groups remained opposed. He agreed to give them and
labor unions seats on a still-to-be formed working group that will advise council
on changes that are needed for temporary and part-time employees.

Trish DeBerry, Garza's former campaign manager and a
media relations consultant hired by a special committee formed to promote the
charter changes, said the victory is a reflection of the mayor's popularity
and his leadership style, which focuses on building consensus.

University of Texas at San Antonio public administration
professor Heywood Sanders said the win shows the mayor can "sell these
kinds of accountability and government changes to the public."

But Sanders cautioned against reading too much into the
victory because of the dismal turnout.